Mill Memo: Asian Denim Mills on the TENCEL™ Collections
Over the years, it has become easier to find denim fabrics containing TENCEL™ Lyocell or Modal as mills scale up their use of these fibers to meet sustainability, design or performance characteristics.
Adding TENCEL™ to denim creates textiles that are soft and comfortable, with a smaller ecological impact. The fibers can also create a variety of looks—from a subtle sheen to matte and slubby.
Carved in Blue connected with mills in India, Indonesia and Japan to discuss how they are using TENCEL™ fibers and what to expect from their upcoming lines. Read on to hear from Badjatex, Bhaskar Denim, Kaihara and Shinohara Textile.
BADJATEX
Amit Suresh, vice president
Carved in Blue: Could you briefly describe your latest collections that feature TENCEL™ fibers?
Amit: Our latest collection leverages the soft hand in TENCEL™ Lyocell to reduce and/or eliminate commercial washing treatments. This will result in substantial savings in water, chemicals, energy, logistics and time of process. Further, EcoFlow machines (low water washing machines) often do not yield soft hand garments. TENCEL™ Lyocell mixtures we have developed alleviate this issue.
Carved in Blue: When did you first use TENCEL™ in commercial collections? And how has your use of TENCEL™ changed since then?
Amit: We have been using TENCEL™ Lyocell for the last five years. Initially it was to give the fabric soft hand and drape. We have evolved to align the fiber with our conservation strategies. We integrate the soft hand of the fiber to reduce the need for long washing machine cycles.
Carved in Blue: What top trends do you see for denim in the upcoming Fall/Winter 24-25 season? How can brands and garment manufacturers use your TENCEL™ collections to create designs fitting these trends?
Amit: The top trend is to return to a more fit-driven stretch. Less stretch instead of the hyper stretch as we have seen to date. Open constructions will continue with good recovery. More authentic looking denim—not too busy.
Open constructions and fit-driven denim are often heavier. We leverage TENCEL™ Lyocell to give it a softer hand and drape. Open construction, heavier denims take a lot of processing to get them to be pliable. We can take advantage of TENCEL™ properties to reduce water and machine times.
BHASKAR DENIM
Subir Mukherjee, business head – denim
Carved in Blue: Could you briefly describe your latest collections that feature TENCEL™ fibers?
Subir: We have used TENCEL™ Lyocell in Spring/Summit ‘24 and we will have it also in the new coming collections. In the past we have used TENCEL™ Lyocell most of the time in tops, and now we have started to use it on bottom weight on open twill and authentic denim construction to have more soft hand feel and less cotton usage.
Carved in Blue: When did you first use TENCEL™ in commercial collections? And how has your use of TENCEL™ changed since then?
Subir: We always had a strong shirt collection as Bhaskar Denim, and TENCEL™ Lyocell has been always a successful story on tops since the early days. Now it is becoming more a fiber that we use for multi-purpose: tops, bottoms, to reduce cotton percentage, to have more fluidity on structure and more sustainable impact.
Carved in Blue: What top trends do you see for denim in the upcoming Fall/Winter 24-25 season? How can brands and garment manufacturers use your TENCEL™ collections to create designs fitting these trends?
Subir: The top trends of denim start with recycled cotton and recycled fiber, and TENCEL™ Lyocell can help as sustainable fiber to be mixed with recycle fibers and have better strength and softness and minimizing usage of water in dyeing and processing. TENCEL™ Lyocell is a perfect fiber for this support as well.
KAIHARA
Yohei Uchikawa, sales division manager
Carved in Blue: Could you briefly describe your latest collections that feature TENCEL™ fibers?
Yohei: So far, many materials have been based on an authentic look and feel, and by adding TENCEL™ Lyocell, we have achieved both look and feel. In the future, we will add value to the product, and some tests are underway to make the appearance and texture easier to understand, such as TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo Color technology.
Carved in Blue: When did you first use TENCEL™ in commercial collections? And how has your use of TENCEL™ changed since then?
Yohei: We adopted it roughly 30 years ago during the TENCEL™ Lyocell boom in Japan, when many part numbers existed. Although it is not as widespread now as it used to be, it is used mainly by women’s brands, not with the appearance of a high TENCEL™ blend. However, mainly women’s brands are using blends for the purpose of soft texture while retaining the appearance of denim.
Carved in Blue: What top trends do you see for denim in the upcoming Fall/Winter 24-25 season? How can brands and garment manufacturers use your TENCEL™ collections to create designs fitting these trends?
Yohei: Denim-like denim continues to look like denim. On the other hand, it is a market catalyst in the trend and high-price range. In terms of denim other than sustainable elements, it is not only about five-pocket denim, but also about creating a new type of denim that is not limited to the conventional five-pocket denim. It seems urgent to develop materials and create a silhouette (shape) that is not limited to the conventional five-pocket denim. It could be a combination of TENCEL™ Lyocell and synthetic fibers or a shirt. It would be interesting to combine products with a work taste that has never existed before, and to use them in items that evoke new scenes.
SHINOHARA TEXTILE
Tatsuya Shinohara, sales manager
Carved in Blue: Could you briefly describe your latest collections that feature TENCEL™ fibers?
Tatsuya: Warp 100 percent TENCEL™ Lyocell and weft merino wool, 100 percent high-quality denim with the luster and drape of TENCEL™ Lyocell and the fullness and warmth of wool.
In addition, we are also reproposing basic denim made of 100 percent TENCEL™ Lyocell and TENCEL™ Lyocell-cotton mixed weave. We feel that the demand from customers for eco-friendly materials, luster and drape is increasing.
Carved in Blue: When did you first use TENCEL™ in commercial collections? And how has your use of TENCEL™ changed since then?
Tatsuya: We have been using TENCEL™ Lyocell since it first appeared in the market more than 20 years ago, and continue to use it. However, there have been ups and downs due to the trendiness of denim as a material. In the early days, many mills did not know how to wash it and could not create a good texture and expression. In recent years, however, the handling method has been recognized and there seems to be less need for special explanation.
Carved in Blue: What top trends do you see for denim in the upcoming Fall/Winter 24-25 season? How can brands and garment manufacturers use your TENCEL™ collections to create designs fitting these trends?
Tatsuya: I think the words “eco,” “sustainable” and “recycled” remain strong. We will continue to promote TENCEL™ Lyocell as an eco-friendly material.